


Reactions Mk II

by Pom_Rania



Series: Little By Little [24]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chopper loves to use his electroshock prod, Gen, Minor Original Character(s), POV Nonhuman, Semi-Unreliable Narrator, characters discussing if Kanan and Hera are in a relationship, mentions of dokma, my attempt at humour, people aren't as bad as you might think, visually-impaired Ezra Bridger, you can trust the events but not the interpretation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-21 01:15:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10674684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pom_Rania/pseuds/Pom_Rania
Summary: Chopper reacts to people on base reacting. Sequel to Reactions.





	Reactions Mk II

CaptainHeraSyndulla had very explicitly forbidden Chopper from using his electroshock prod on base personnel without a good reason. CaptainHeraSyndulla had very clearly added that “because it was funny” was not equivalent to “a good reason”.

  Nothing had been said regarding the suitability of “defending ‘Ghost crew’ from insult by beings not of the subset 'Ghost crew’,” and it was not Chopper’s intention to raise the matter for potential rejection.

  Chopper’s presence was not required at the moment in any particular location, therefore he was free to go where he chose. He formulated a course of action as he wove around the dokma on base. Their numbers were increasing, but it was not relevant to his current aim.

  If organics were aware of his presence, then they would alter their behaviour. Unaltered behaviour had a greater chance of being unacceptable. Unacceptable behaviour could be punished and corrected. Correcting the behaviour of an organic would involve using his electroshock prod on the organic. Therefore, “stealth” algorithms would be activated.

  If organics on base were discussing EzraBridger in an unacceptable manner, then Chopper would correct them. Repeatedly, and with pleasure.

***

He came across a pair of organics soon after setting out. Their focus appeared to be mostly directed at their nutrient intake, with some available for idle communication. They gave no indication of noticing his presence.

  “That reminds me, did you hear?”

  “I was just about to ask you the same thing.”

  “About that kid? And his eyes?”

  Their subject of conversation was indeed highly likely to be EzraBridger. Chopper eagerly focused auditory sensors on the two organics.

  “No, well, I heard, but I mean, Tenner rigged something up for the dokma and it is _hilarious_ , you should see them.”

  “Oh? Is it that catapult she was talking about?”

  “Nah, that got vetoed, but there’s some ramps and a little maze, and they just....”

  The discussion continued in that innocent direction. Chopper subvocalized frustration and navigated away.

***

Given that the first organics he encountered had quickly turned to discussing EzraBridger, or at least begun to, Chopper would have supposed that it was a common topic of conversation, and expected to come across more instances. That hypothesis was not supported by his findings.

***

“...heard it’s progressive,” Chopper’s auditory sensors eventually picked up. That was a phrase potentially denoting the topic of impairment, specifically that of EzraBridger, and thus to be investigated. “So, we know it will get worse.”

  “And I’ve seen him stumble when it gets dark,” a different organic said. Neither voice was stored as belonging to a familiar organic, and he chose not to run recognition algorithms for when they might have previously been encountered. “Is low-light problems even a thing?

  "I’m really no expert, but let’s assume it is, and he has it. Now that you mention it, I think I remember that murder-droid turning on its lamp when he was near.”

  Chopper made an involuntary response of amusement at that description of himself, despite the designation of stealth as a current priority.

  “Speaking of, did you hear that?” the second organic said. “That sounded like it. I’ll never be able to forget its laugh, ever.”

  “I didn’t hear anything.”

  “Well, let’s hope.” Stealth was apparently maintained. “So, problems when it gets dark. Is it going to help if we get more lights set up?”

  A brief pause. “In the short term, I suppose, but not forever. And I haven’t heard anyone else ever ask for it, so he’d probably know it was about him. Unless you can think of another way to justify it.”

  “You got a point with that. I don’t know if we’d even have the spare lights available, so I guess that idea doesn’t work.” 

  “You were around for Jarrus dealing with that, I just had a friend who had a friend who complained about things people did when trying to help that really didn’t help. Anything else you can remember?”

  “Mostly everyone being really upset, and the purple guy –”

  “Zeb.”

  “– Zeb, he literally growled and snapped at someone who didn’t.... Oh, right. Can’t believe I forgot this. Keeping the way clear. It needs to happen. No leaving tools on the ground where he could trip over them.”

  “Why – what, do people even _do_ that?! How careless can you get! Forget 'someone not being able to see’, that’s a good way to ruin, well, anything!”

  “Yacov does that all the time. I’ve been meaning to talk to them about that, but now I have even more reason to.”

  At that, a sufficient amount of data had been observed to reach a reasonable conclusion. There was zero insult towards EzraBridger in the exchange, only a desire to help. Chopper huffed to himself and moved off, ignoring the sounds of “was the murder-droid here the whole time listening to us” that originated from behind him.

***

From the large sample size that he obtained, Chopper was able to conclusively determine that the most common subjects of conversation for the organics on base, by a wide margin, were the pleasure or lack thereof coming from a specific source of nourishment, and the unusual behaviour of the dokma. Neither would justify the use of his electroshock prod.

***

The two organics were an outlier, working in relative silence. They also represented the last chance before Chopper would have to determine that his mission had been a failure. He recognized both as members of “Phoenix Squadron”. Their designations had been considered unimportant, and thus were not stored in memory.

  “I take it you’ve heard then?” one finally said.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, guess that explains why Captain Syndulla was so rough on us lately.”

  “The poor lady, though. First her husband –”

  “Wait, I don’t think she and Jarrus are actually married.”

  “Really? Are you sure about that? Because they certainly act like they’re married.”

  “They might be living common-law, but it’s none of my business what they do or don’t do when nobody else is around.”

  “Yeah, point there. So, can you think of anything we can do to make her feel better?”

  “If you say 'fly better’, I’m going to have to slap you.”

  “...I wasn’t going to say that.”

  “Right. Uh, I got nothing. What does she like?”

  “Other than flying? Beating the Empire, her ship, her crew, her crazy droid, Jarrus –”

  “Seriously, what is with you and Jarrus? You keep mentioning him.”

  “I mentioned him _twice_ , what’s with that reaction? Or maybe you just _hope_ Captain Syndulla isn’t with him so you’ll have a chance.”

  “He has nice hair, that’s all it is! I still don’t get how he gets it looking so good when he can’t even see it.”

  “Which just brings us back. Well, what did you do before all this, when someone suffered a loss and you wanted to help?”

  “Honestly? I’d just wait for somebody else to come up with something, and then chip in however I could. Not very useful here. You?”

  “Stand around feeling awkward and useless. You should have asked literally anyone else.”

  “Maybe that’s what we have to do, ask the others....”

  Chopper was _disgusted_.

  His electroshock prod would indeed be used on a target organic, any target, even if he was required to manufacture an excuse.

  He could semi-plausibly state that the organics had been speculating intimate details about CaptainHeraSyndulla and KananJarrus. It was even true, from a certain perspective.

  Since neither organic was more desirable as a target, he selected the one nearest his location.

  His chosen victim arched and spasmed under the electricity. The other stared, then chuckled. The first organic, once recovered, grinned as well. It was an anomalous reaction, even though the electroshock prod had been at a low intensity and unlikely to cause harm other than momentary discomfort.

  “I guess... wow, I’m awake now. Droid out of nowhere though.”

  “Well, that’s Chopper for you.” The organic tapped his casing with a manipulator. “Don’t you ever change.”

  “Maybe that’s the… I think I need to sit down a bit more. But maybe that’s a solution, get a painting of Chopper on one of the ships. I think Trae was looking for something to brighten up the wing, and he is pretty much our mascot by now....”

  Chopper wheeled off, unnoticed, as they discussed potential decoration. He felt vaguely insulted. That was not how that exchange should have gone. That was not how his excursion should have gone.

  He considered factors that may have interfered with his predictions. Obviously the organics had learned to alter their behaviour when he might be present. That was the only reasonable explanation.

  It was acceptable. The “Ghost crew” was under his protection even when he was unable to physically defend them. The other organics on base had been appropriately trained due to him. He made a satisfied beep at that conclusion.

  Additionally, data suggested that members of “Phoenix Squadron” cared for CaptainHeraSyndulla. It was not to the same degree as Chopper did, or even other members of “Ghost crew”, but it was beneficial for CaptainHeraSyndulla.

  He had come to realizations about the organics on base, he had discovered that he was even more helpful to the “Ghost crew” than he had previously been aware, and he had been able to use his electroshock prod on an organic. His excursion was an unqualified success. With that, he navigated back towards the Ghost.


End file.
